He and the Human Torch later visited Avengers Mansion to play poker, where the Thing was constantly attacked by the Hulk. The two groups later stormed Latveria to rescue Sue Storm and Wasp. When the Avengers were taken out of time, an emergency program by Tony was put in place. The rest of the Fantastic Four were called to a peace conference in another dimension while the Thing watched football. He was interrupted when robots began destroying New York. During the fight he saved and met War Machine, who he asked if his suit could get the score of the game. Through the suit, the two were informed that the Avengers were gone and they were hand-picked as new members. The other members were Iron Fist, Power Man, Spider-Man and Wolverine. The bulk of them acted as a distraction while Spider-Man sabotaged the time drive to get the Avengers back.

When Galactus arrived to devour Earth itself, the Thing was among the heroes summoned to destroy his machines. He and the other heroes left after his defeat leaving the Avengers to be hailed as Earth's Mightiest Heroes.